It was one of the hottest congressional races in Texas. Incumbent Democrat Colin Allred defeated Republican newcomer Genevieve Collins in District 32.
The district includes parts of Dallas, Richardson, Garland, the Park Cities and Wylie. Two years ago Colin Allred defeated long-time incumbent Republican Pete Sessions, turning the red seat blue. Republicans hoped to flip the seat, but Allred led all night.
This victory is for North Texas and everyone who believes that if we put our values first, and work hard to deliver results, anything is possible.
— Colin Allred (@ColinAllredTX) November 4, 2020
I'm honored to represent #TX32 and I thank North Texans for trusting me to keep serving this community where I was born and raised. pic.twitter.com/329cTABR44
“I had a colleague who said you can get elected accidentally but you can’t get re-elected accidentally. So I’m thankful for this chance to continue to serve,” Allred said.
When the Congressman spoke, other elections around the country were not final. His comments seemed directed toward frustrated constituents.
“We’re going to have to dig deep no matter what to dig out of this hole that we’re in and to try to get our country back on track,” said Allred. “It’s going to take all of us.”
Allred asked for patience. He said all votes will be properly counted.
From 2003 to 2018, the congressional seat had been occupied by Pete Sessions. Two years ago, Allred defeated him. While demographics of the district have changed, the seat remained competitive.
Newcomer Genevieve Collins, a Republican that hoped to defeat Allred, said Allred is too partisan and liberal for North Texas, hadn’t managed to pass any legislation, and takes credit for accomplishments of others.
Allred touted as accomplishments to Garland’s new VA hospital, support for the Dallas-Houston bullet train project, the updated trade agreement among the U.S., Canada and Mexico, passage of the CARES Act, and House passage of additional pandemic funding in the Heroes Act, which didn't go anywhere in the Senate.
In a recent debate, Allred accused the Republicans, along with Collins, of playing partisan politics instead of helping the American people.
“We passed and I voted for $600 million in additional funding for our local police in the first HEROES act, and Mitch McConnell and the Republicans in the senate said 'no,'" Allred said. "They demanded that we come back with a much lower figure, and so there was never any funding provided other than that I voted to actually add funding and Mitch McConnell said 'no'.”
Collins said she wanted to bring a fresh, conservative voice to Congress, to reform Obamacare and lower health insurance prices.
Both candidates are from Dallas. Allred, 37, was raised by a single mom, a teacher. He attended college playing football, became an NFL player, then got his law degree.
Collins, 34, took a job in her family’s education company, rowed on high school and college teams, then got a graduate degree in business at SMU.
Got a tip? Email Reporter Bill Zeeble at bzeeble@kera.org. You can follow him on Twitter @bzeeble.
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Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.
